At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the development of an AI-powered platform, shaping technical direction and architecture.
- Company: Ambitious AI startup with a small, highly technical team.
- Benefits: Flexible hybrid work, direct collaboration with founders, and significant ownership.
- Other info: Fast-paced environment focused on outcomes and minimal bureaucracy.
- Why this job: Join early and make a real impact on product and company trajectory.
- Qualifications: 3+ years in software engineering, strong Python skills, and experience with scalable systems.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.
I'm partnering with an ambitious AI startup building an AI powered GTM platform that automates outbound sales at scale. The team is small, highly technical, and shipping new features every week. They're looking for a Lead AI Engineer who wants to take ownership of technical direction, architecture, and product delivery. This is an opportunity to join early, work directly with the founders, and have a significant impact on both the product and company trajectory.
As the Lead AI Engineer, you'll be responsible for shaping the technical roadmap and making key architectural decisions across the platform. This is not a role where requirements are handed to you. You'll work closely with the founders to identify opportunities, define solutions, and deliver production ready systems that create real business impact. You'll own projects from initial concept through to deployment and iteration, helping build a scalable AI platform used by customers every day.
What You'll Be Doing
- Designing and building core platform features, including outbound automation, lead generation, integrations, and AI agent workflows
- Defining architecture for LLM orchestration, evaluation frameworks, observability, and agent reliability
- Building and scaling backend systems using Python and FastAPI
- Working with modern cloud infrastructure and data platforms
- Shipping quickly, gathering feedback, and continuously improving the product
- Collaborating directly with founders on product strategy and technical direction
- Establishing engineering best practices and helping shape the future of the platform
What They're Looking For
Essential
- 3+ years of professional software engineering experience
- Strong experience building and shipping production software products
- Deep expertise with Python and modern backend development
- Experience designing scalable systems and making architectural decisions
- Hands on experience deploying and working with LLMs in production environments
- Understanding of prompt engineering, evaluation frameworks, and managing non deterministic AI behaviour
- Strong problem solving skills and the ability to operate with ambiguity
- A product mindset with a focus on delivering customer value
Nice to Have
- Experience with FastAPI
- Experience with React, Next.js, or other modern frontend frameworks
- Experience with PostgreSQL, Supabase, AWS, or Vercel
- Previous startup or early stage company experience
- Experience building AI agents, workflow automation platforms, or GTM tools
What Success Looks Like
- Taking ownership of major technical decisions
- Delivering high quality features quickly and consistently
- Improving platform reliability, scalability, and performance
- Helping shape product direction through close collaboration with founders
- Building systems that customers actively use and derive value from
Working Environment
- Small, high trust team
- Direct communication and minimal bureaucracy
- Fast paced environment with significant ownership
- Focus on outcomes and impact rather than hours worked
- Opportunity to influence both product and technical strategy
Location
Hybrid, London. Remote applications also considered.
AI Engineer employer: Explore Group
Join an innovative AI startup in London where you'll have the chance to lead the technical direction of a cutting-edge GTM platform. With a small, highly skilled team and a culture that prioritises trust and direct communication, you'll enjoy significant ownership over your projects and the opportunity to collaborate closely with the founders. This role not only offers competitive benefits and a hybrid working model but also provides a unique chance to make a tangible impact on the product and the company's future.
